The ability to precisely dispense a fluid, for example, a hot melt or cold adhesive or glue, is a necessity for manufacturers engaged in the packaging and plastics industries. Various fluid dispensers have been developed for the placement of fluids, for example, adhesives, coatings, etc., onto a substrate, for example, a carton flap, being supported by a moving conveyor. The speed of the conveyor, or line speed, is set according to such factors as the complexity of the dispensing pattern and the configuration of the gun. Adhesive is normally supplied to the dispensing gun under pressure by a motor driven pump. In such applications, and particularly during start up and shutdown, it is important that fluids be dispensed and applied at precise locations or positions on the moving substrate. Fluid that is dispensed too soon or too late and therefore dispensed at other than a desired location can adversely impact subsequent operations on the product and/or result in a lower quality or scrap product.
The time required to open and close the fluid dispensing gun, that is, the dispensing gun switching time, creates a delay in the fluid dispensing process that can cause inaccuracies in the fluid dispensing process. For example, a conveyor moving at 500 feet per minute will move 0.008 inches in one millisecond. If a pneumatic solenoid-operated dispensing gun takes 25 ms to open, the substrate will have moved 0.200 inches after the dispensing gun is commanded to open, but before any fluid is dispensed from the dispensing gun. Thus, the adhesive is deposited onto the substrate at a different location than anticipated, and such shifts in the location of the adhesive reduces the quality of the fluid dispensing process and may result in scrap product.
The quality of the fluid dispensing process is also adversely affected by variations in the dispensing gun switching time when the dispensing gun is commanded to close. At the end of a dispensing process, a lengthening of the switching time of the dispensing gun results in adhesive being dispensed for a longer period of time than desired and hence, at a different location than anticipated. Similarly, a shortened switching time can result in a lower quality fluid dispensing process and a scrap part or product.
In order to improve the speed and reliability of the fluid dispensing process, more recent years have seen the development of an electrically operated fluid dispenser or gun. Generally, electrically operated fluid dispensers have an electromagnetic coil surrounding an armature that is energized to produce an electromagnetic field with respect to a magnetic pole. The electromagnetic field is selectively controlled to open and close a dispensing valve by moving a valve stem connected to the armature. More specifically, the forces of magnetic attraction between the armature and the magnetic pole move the armature and valve stem toward the pole, thereby opening the dispensing valve. At the end of a dispensing cycle, the electromagnet is de-energized, and a return spring returns the armature and valve stem to their original positions, thereby closing the dispensing valve. By operating a dispensing gun coil at higher voltages, for example, over 40 VAC, the operational speed of the electric fluid dispensing gun is increased.
However, even with a greater speed of operation, a finite period of time, for example, ten milliseconds, is required to energize a magnetic field with the gun coil and move the valve to its open position. That period of time represents a delay in the application of fluid onto the moving substrate. Depending on the conveyor speed, that short delay also causes inaccuracies in the desired placement of fluid on the substrate.
There is a continuing market pressure to provide faster conveyor speeds, for example, 1,000 feet per minute and more, without any loss of quality in the fluid dispensing process. Clearly, as conveyor speeds increase, the effect of variations in the gun switching time becomes more important. Controls for fluid dispensing guns consequently have a manually adjustable input that is used by an operator to provide a fixed, gun on compensation value. For example, the gun coil switching time can be measured and used as a compensation value that is entered by the operator before initiating a fluid dispensing cycle. The gun control uses the gun on compensation value to advance a start of a fluid dispensing cycle, that is, the time at which the gun coil is turned on or energized. Thus, after the delay caused by the gun coil switching time, fluid is dispensed from the gun at a time that results in a more accurate deposition of fluid onto the substrate.
In many applications, that fixed compensation value provides a satisfactory fluid dispensing process. However, in some applications, the operator may observe that the placement of the fluid is not accurate. In those applications, the operator can again use the manually adjustable input to change the compensation value and thus, more accurately locate the placement of the fluid on the substrate.
The same issues arise when the fluid dispensing gun is turned off. It should be noted that the fluid dispensing valve is opened by operation of the gun coil, whereas the fluid dispensing valve is closed by the operation of a return spring. Therefore, the switching times required to open and shut the fluid dispensing valve are often different. The increment of time required for the magnetic field in the gun coil to dissipate and the return spring to shut off the valve is measurable and can be manually input into the fluid dispensing control as a fixed, gun off compensation value. The gun control uses that compensation value to advance an ending of the fluid dispensing cycle, that is, the time at which the gun coil is turned off or de-energized. Thus, after the delay to shut the dispensing valve off, fluid ceases to be dispensed from the gun at a time that results in an accurate termination of the fluid dispensing process.
Although known fluid dispensing systems operate satisfactorily in many applications, the dispensing gun switching time can be adversely impacted by many different factors. For example, variations in the switching time of the dispensing gun can be caused by variations in fluid viscosity or variations in line voltage being supplied to the dispensing system control. Further, mechanical wear and aging of components within the dispensing gun can impact gun switching time. For example, a return spring is often used to move the dispensing valve in opposition to a solenoid. Over its life, the spring constant of the return spring changes, thereby changing the rate at which the dispensing valve opens and closes and hence, the location of dispensed adhesive on a substrate. Further, the accumulation of charred adhesive within the dispensing gun over its life often increases frictional forces on the dispensing valve, thereby changing gun actuation time. Thus, for the above and other reasons, the operation of the dispensing gun is subject to many changing physical forces and environmental conditions that cause variations in the actuation time of the dispensing gun. Such variations in dispensing gun switching times produce variations from desired locations of adhesive deposits on the moving substrate.
Thus, known compensation techniques for fluid dispensing systems have several disadvantages. First, if the initial compensation value is not accurate, a better compensation value requires that production be run in a trial and error process until the desired compensation is determined. Such a process is an inefficient and uneconomical use of the production line, and scrap product is often being produced during this tuning process. Second, if, during production, there are any changes in the components of the fluid dispensing gun that change its operating time, the placement of the fluid on the substrate will drift. Any drift in the switching time of the fluid dispensing gun often results in a less accurate fluid dispensing process and hence, a poorer quality product.
The applicator may apply the treatment and the location other than the desired location due to changes in operating conditions. For instance, where the applicator is a glue applicator, glue valve delay, or changes in glue pressure or consistency may cause the glue to be applied to a carton at a location other than the desired location. The operator must measure the applied location of the treatment, and reset the applicator until the applied location matches the desired location. This is a time consuming process that requires several repetitions and reduces productivity.
Thus, there is need for a fluid dispensing system that automatically corrects for any variations in the switching time of the fluid dispensing gun.